If you want to share the detailed saga of your braces story, this is the place to do it. You can use this forum as a braces journal, editing and updating your posts as your treatment goes on. Remember to also visit the main ArchWired.com site for additional stories from other readers!

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I agree with u eatting isnt that bad; even though I have to cut up my pizza now to eat it; subway sandwiches are harder to eat... Also I agree with you about the clean up. Once I eat dinner I floss/brush/waterpik/mouthwash (after 10-15 minutes) I feel like I worked out and there is no way I would eat a snack....

The braces diet

Once these braces are off I am eatting corn on the cobb, hard candy, apples, pizza (the right way), chicken wings.... the list will keep growing.....

Immediately after GA, no, I was not in pain. When under GA, they still give a local anesthetic. However, being I had a two hour drive back home & then the hubby had to fill the prescriptions, the local had worn off and I was in quite a bit of pain! If I had been able to take my prescriptions (Ibuprofen & Vicodin) right away, I probably could have avoided the pain. Plus, I developed a partial dry socket even though I was a model patient!! The pain lasted three weeks put it was really only a problem if I forcefully breathed in or out or yelled or talked excitingly! Otherwise, the extractions weren't really painful, just uncomfortable.

Today is my 4th day of being braced. My teeth have only been slightly tender. I feel it most when I chew. However, the bare wire that runs across my extraction sites is cutting into my cheeks pretty seriously! Don't know what to do! Can't put wax on a long area of wire. It doesn't work! Trust me, I've tried!

I agree with u eatting isnt that bad; even though I have to cut up my pizza now to eat it; subway sandwiches are harder to eat... Also I agree with you about the clean up. Once I eat dinner I floss/brush/waterpik/mouthwash (after 10-15 minutes) I feel like I worked out and there is no way I would eat a snack....

The braces diet

Once these braces are off I am eatting corn on the cobb, hard candy, apples, pizza (the right way), chicken wings.... the list will keep growing.....

And u any items u have on your wish list

Oh yes, I miss corn on the cob!! This summer is NOT gonna be the same without corn. I have experimented with chicken wings. They are not as fun to eat now too...but I still eat them and then have to do some heavy duty flossing later...

Immediately after GA, no, I was not in pain. When under GA, they still give a local anesthetic. However, being I had a two hour drive back home & then the hubby had to fill the prescriptions, the local had worn off and I was in quite a bit of pain! If I had been able to take my prescriptions (Ibuprofen & Vicodin) right away, I probably could have avoided the pain. Plus, I developed a partial dry socket even though I was a model patient!! The pain lasted three weeks put it was really only a problem if I forcefully breathed in or out or yelled or talked excitingly! Otherwise, the extractions weren't really painful, just uncomfortable.

Today is my 4th day of being braced. My teeth have only been slightly tender. I feel it most when I chew. However, the bare wire that runs across my extraction sites is cutting into my cheeks pretty seriously! Don't know what to do! Can't put wax on a long area of wire. It doesn't work! Trust me, I've tried!

How long is the area of wire you need to cover? Coz I had the same problem...a long piece of wire would cut up my inner cheek when I sleep on the side of my face, so what I did was roll out a LONG piece of wax and attach it along the wire. Have you tried doing that? Hope that helps a little.

Your teeth will start feeling better and better after the 5th day. You will be able to eat solid food without too much discomfort. Hope you feel better today!

The bare wires are quite long! The two bottom second premolars that were extracted were baby teeth but they were larger (wider) than normal permanent second premolars, according to my ortho. I haven't measured the gaps but believe me when I say they're pretty big. Feel free to check out my blog - I recently posted pics!

I did try to roll out a long piece of wax but I just couldn't get it to stay on the wire. So I started doing salt water rinses 4 and 5 times a day and I think that helped the most. I still have small grooves in my cheeks but they are no longer painful! Thank goodness because it was almost unbearable. Felt like I was trying to cut my cheeks in half!!

Thanks for the tip, though! Maybe I'll give it another shot when they brace my uppers because I'll have bare wire over those extraction sites but not nearly as wide.

Went in for my first teeth cleaning session after getting my lowers braced. Good thing this was scheduled for this week coz next week I get my uppers so my teeth will be nice and clean for my Ortho. to bond my upper brackets to.

I will be going on a weekend get-a-way with DH this weekend in the wine country...I am looking forward to it! We will be eating at a fine dining restaurant and I hope I won't feel the urge to pick at my brackets due to food being stuck in them!

OOoh, Napa!!! I just went last month and it was great! The food was deeeelish! You'll have a great time, and if you like the bubbly, check out Domaine Carneros, plus it feels like you're in a castle and they are really nice! I was worried about food being stuck but swish about with water and you should be fine. I tended to stay away from eating things with lots of leafy greens and black pepper, that doesn't mean I didn't have any. Most of the time, I was overly paranoid over nothing in my brackets. Oh yeah, one last thing, V. Sattui has a picnic spot, you can order sandwiches from their deli or pick a loaf of bread, cheeses, and meats, to have a cute lunch with your wine! Very affordable and I thought their cheese and mustard was yumm! I'd suggest getting to those two wineries early as they get pretty crowded after 11:00am. Have a great time, I'll stop by later to see how your upper banding and trip went!

I'm back from my weekend get-a-way. Had a nice relaxing time and drank lots of wine. Now my ligs are stained . But my appointment with the Ortho. is on Thursday so I will be smiling with my mouth closed till then. Hope after he bands my uppers, he will change my lower ligs. I think I will be bad and eat curry for dinner on Wednesday too...my DH loves curry!

Miss Smiley, we didn't have time to go to Domaine Carneros but drove past it a couple of times...next time I go down, I will have to check it out!

Will be back on Thursday to report how my upper banding goes. Wish me luck!!

I am so happy I finally got my uppers braced! I finally feel like I "belong" to the metal mouth club...LOL! I actually feel quite comfortable now...but just waiting for that achy pain to come (you know, the pain you get 1 day after getting braced). I got the porcelain brackets for my 6 front teeth (although only 5 are bracketed right now). The porcelain brackets feel quite nice, they are not sharp like the metal ones...or maybe I have become used to my lowers so now my uppers are not bugging me like when I first got braced.

Anyway, now the waiting game for my extraction starts...my next appointment is in 3 weeks...which will just be a check-up and will be referred out to an oral surgeon...yikes!

P/S: I updated my first post with new photos! I got dark pink ligs for my lowers this time...I like them!

I REALLY like the dark pink ligs. Maybe I'll try those next time. I got light pink which I really like. I'd really like light purple but my ortho only has dark purple.

The bare wire is cutting into my cheeks again!!! I remember reading somewhere about taking a small piece of drinking straw and covering the wire. After two days of misery, I finally tried it this morning and I have NOT had any discomfort! What a godsend! Now, my cheeks can heal - it was SO BAD!

Just skimmed through your story and wanted to say Congrats on being a "full metal mouth"!! LOL I know how you feel. I only have my uppers braced(2 1/2 weeks until lowers get done)and I don't feel like I totally belong in the "club" . Every time I meet someone and they're like "oh, you got braces!" I alway reply with "yes, just my tops...getting my bottoms on in a few weeks". My bottoms are worse then my tops and I feel like I should explain it so ppl aren't wondering why I'm not fixing my bottoms! hehe

I must say, I love the ligs! I have Damons so no pretty colours ....oh well, I'll just admire everyone else's:) I look forward to following your story.

Keep smilin'!
Jenny

Braced for 18 months: Damon 3mx all around with Damon 3's on "social six". Now is Essix retainers for 10 hours/night.